My Broken Dream: Still time to catch Dia Azzawi’s show in Dubai

This giant installation is currently up at Meem Gallery, Dubai. It is a 10metre-long painting by Dia Azzawi called My Broken Dream. Courtesy of Meem Gallery
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If you haven’t been or can’t make it over to Doha to see Dia Azzawi’s major retrospective at Mathaf then do make a trip to Meem Gallery as soon as possible. The Dubai space has a 10-metre long painting installed in the gallery, which takes up the entire space and is a bold statement from both gallery and artist.

Azzawi, a 77-year-old Iraqi artist is one of his generations foremost artists with many of his works delving into the social political upheaval the region has seen and the aftermath of war. The exhibition in Doha is believed to be the largest ever solo exhibition of works by an Arab artist and contains work from across several decades.

This large piece in Meem is from 2015-2016 and is titled My Broken Dream. It is a kaleidoscopic view of daggers, swords, limbs and organic shapes rendered in shades of black, white and grey. It conveys suffering and confusion and the title undermines his feeling of tragedy and loss perhaps when it comes to his homeland.

If nothing else, the sheer size and scope of the painting deserves reflection and it may well prompt an unplanned trip to Qatar to see the rest of his oeuvre on show.

* My Broken Dream runs until January 10. www.meemartgallery.com